Ruby Red

THE FORAGER:

BERRY PICKING IS NEVER TIRING,
ALWAYS EXCITING,
A TREASURE HUNT FOR ALL AGES.

NATURES GOLD NUGGETS,
CLUES LEFT IN WHITE PETALS,
YELLOW CENTERS, HINTING TO WHERE STEMS CROSS
AND "X" MARKS THE SPOT.

RUBY RED JEWELS,
TUCKED AWAY,
WAITING TO BE FOUND
READY FOR THE TAKING.

HELLO SWEETNESS.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR BOUNTY

Kale, Spinach and Mushroom Quiché with Spaghetti Squash Crust

Kale, Spinach and Mushroom Quiché with Spaghetti Squash Crust

Ingredients:

1/2 Medium spaghetti squash (heaviest for it’s size)

4 eggs

¾ yellow/white onion diced

3 Stems fresh kale washed, destemmed and torn into small pieces

1 Cup/handful fresh spinach torn or roughly chopped

8 oz. sliced or chopped cremini mushrooms

¾ Cup low-fat cottage cheese

¼ Cup fresh grated parmesan

¼ Cup grated cheddar or Mexican blend

Olive oil

Spices/herbs:

Fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

½ tsp Parsley

½ tsp Basil

1/8-1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Pinch of ground

coriander

Pinch of Dill (optional)

Pinch of Ground sage (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is warming, halve and deseed spaghetti squash.

 

Place face down on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool.

I have found that about ½ of a spaghetti squash will make enough for one 9 in. pie. While squash is baking, using a little bit of paper towel and just enough olive oil to coat the bottom and sides of your pie plate. Once the squash has cooled enough, use a fork and transfer the squash into the pie pan and press the squash evenly in and along the sides of the pan. (You can do this part early and chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook the filling)

Filling: In a med/lg sauté pan or skillet, drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and sauté onions over medium to medium-high heat until almost translucent. Add kale, spinach and mushrooms and continue to brown with lid on, stirring as needed until the kale cooks down and softens. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While oven preheating oven to 400 degrees, in a medium bowl, combine, eggs, cheeses and spices/herbs. 

Stir until well combined. Add the cooked ingredients once they have cooled a little, and then transfer ingredients onto your spaghetti crust, pressing down gently with spoon or fork to evenly distribute (it will cook down a little so it’s ok if it is a little higher than your crust.)

Cook for 40-60 minutes until cooked all the way through (when a knife or fork comes out clean after checking.) and it browns a little on top. 

Eet Smakelijk as the Dutch would say!

Letting Go

I watched and listened to snow mounds covering ice surfaces breaking away suddenly and dramatically from rooftops, sliding noisily and with great haste towards roof line ledges and landing in shattered shards to the cold white floor beneath. They met their new home with urgency, unaware at how temporary this new home would be. The sodden, damp melting white piles of frozen precipitation, which in turn would eventually melt away and transform taking an altogether a new form…

Oh how I see my own reflection in those broken and melting ice pieces, in the great force and energy exchange that occurs upon releasing from their gable perches. Like these snow and icy layers, I let emotional and spiritual concerns build, stacking heavily upon my soul and conscience. I am unable to shake this weight on my own. I need to walk by faith and not by sight and allow His warm restoration to breathe life and meet those cold protective layers. His loving hands to chip away at the heavy icy shields that my frame is bowing under the weight to contain. And then, all too suddenly, fiercely, after waiting so long for those burdens to lift, with many a groan and much rasping that weight is lifted. It releases it's hold and crashes to the floor, snow remnants surrounding my feet serve as reminders about the spiritual burdens that I no longer must bear. I remember what it is to feel the warmth sun breaking through clouds, it's light resting upon my face and just so, my Heavenly Father wrapping around me, reviving, healing, strengthening, reminding me of who I am and what I am meant to be... I am suddenly free from it all. My frame resumes back to its original posture, I can stand to hold a little more.